Dr Pepper

First of all, let me make one thing clear: if you are not Muslim, DO NOT TRY THIS JOKE. Alcohol is harām in Muslim faith, meaning that it is forbidden to drink it. Moustafa and Aya were also drinking Dr Pepper when they pulled this one on Alaa (and obviously the Dr Pepper was not spiked). It resulted in much hilarity. It also led to the discovery that Dr Pepper is available at one grocery store! We then had a hard time convincing Moustafa that root beer doesn’t have alcohol despite having beer in its name.

Because Egypt is approximately 90% Muslim, this also means that it is difficult–but not impossible–to find alcohol here. Most upper-class hotels do allow foreigners to come in for a drink, and there is one chain of stores (appropriately called Drinkies) allowed to sell it, but apparently not corkscrews to open the wine, oops. I don’t drink much so it’s not a big inconvenience, but if you’re the type to enjoy a good brew with your dinner, you’re gonna be severely limited in your restaurant choices. But hey, drunk driving isn’t really an issue here! You just have to watch out for all of the normal drivers…

Lots more people showing up in the comic! I tried to show everyone who was at Thanksgiving. I thought I had everyone, then I realized I didn’t draw myself. Oh well. Oddly, I have not shown many Egyptians in the comic. That should be changing as I make more friends and attempt to learn more Arabic. Emphasis on ‘attempt’.